10 things to do with feijoas

Feijoa's are not only delicious, they're also extremely versatile. Photo / File

It's feijoa time again and many of us will be looking for new ways to eat the fruit, though eating's not the only use for ubiquitous green delicacy.

1) Stew them. Slice 12 feijoas in half and scoop out the insides. Fill a pot with 2 cups of water and put on to the boil. Add a half cup of sugar (white or brown) and wait for it to dissolve. Add the fruit and simmer for about 10 minutes until fruit has softened. Stewed feijoas can be frozen in small containers or stored in preserving jars. Use in crumbles or serve with cereal.

2) Freeze them. Scoop out the flesh and freeze in whatever quantity you prefer. If you use fresh feijoas in baking freeze in the quantities required for your recipe to make baking a lot easier.

3) Dehydrate them: Skin, slice and dehydrate. Snack on them when out mountain biking or when at work. Visit http://feijoafeijoa.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/feijoa-fruit-leather-roll-ups/ for a recipe.

4) Bottle them. In a large saucepan bring three cups of water and one cup of sugar to the boil. Peel 14-16 feijoas as lightly as possible and place into the hot syrup. Once all the fruit is added, bring to the boil for one minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruit to sterilised preserving jars. Pour in sufficient syrup to cover the fruit and spill over the top of the jars. Place the inner-seal lids on top and tightly screw on the seal bands immediately. The seal is complete once the inner seal is down and the feijoas can be turned upside-down without any syrup coming out. Once this happens the sealing bands can be removed. Wipe the jars clean with a damp cloth to remove any excess syrup. Store in a cool, dry place away from sunlight.

5) Bake them. Cakes, muffins, loaves. There are many different recipes for bringing feijoas to morning tea. Kiwi cook Allyson Gofton has a number of recipes, including these feijoa and lime muffins at http://www.allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/Feijoa-muffins-with-lime-glaze/. There are so many possibilities that you can get your friends together for a feijoa morning tea and each have something different to share.

6) Make a salsa. You need: Three feijoas, peeled and finely chopped, one onion, peeled and finely chopped, one tablespoon finely-chopped fresh coriander, one tablespoon brown sugar, freshly ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients together and serve with steak, fish, chicken or potato wedges, or great in rolls with cheese. Make an hour or two ahead for full flavour.

7) Drink them. The Pease Pudding blog is a foodie blog and one of the treats online is this recipe for Feijoa Daquiri. This recipe makes four. You need: Six feijoas (scooped out flesh only), two handfuls of ice cubes, nine parts Bacardi White Rum, three parts Rose's Lime Cordial. Put all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth, serve in a cocktail glass.

8) Preserve them. There are many feijoa jam recipes around, whether you want to make a quick one using the whole fruit or a gourmet jam using vanilla pods and ginger. But how about making feijoa curd? This recipe uses 500g feijoas, eggs and egg yolks, butter and sugar. Visit http://www.grouprecipes.com/8214/feijoa-curd.html for the full method.

9) Brew it. It's true you can make wine from almost anything, including feijoas. If you are a home winemaker why not try making feijoa wine? http://howto.yellow.co.nz/food-drink/wine-and-beer/how-to-make-feijoa-wine/

10) Curry it. A main dish of feijoa and chicken curry. Visit http://feijoafeijoa.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/feijoa-chicken-curry/ for the full recipe.